In the pre-season this would've still seemed like a ridiculous question, of course DeMarcus is better than Sean Lee but now after 3 weeks it doesn't seem so ridiculous. Ware is having an outstanding season as per usual but Lee is having an equally outstanding season. At this point I give the edge to Ware but I don't think that will be set in stone come next season. Sean may be out best defensive player at that point.

What does everyone think?

I would say it is a tie. Clearly Lee can't do the things Ware does on the other hand Lee has skills that Ware does not have. 2 different players at 2 different positions both are key players on this defense.

Ware is not the best in the league. Yeah, he gets his sacks and all, but Clay Mathews has been an absolute BEAST this year.

I used to think he was overrated, but after watching the packers games this year, the dude cannot be stopped. It doesn't matter where he lines up, he completely overpowers anyone on the otherside. And he hits hard everytime he makes a tackle.

But back to the original question..... i think ware is better but the defense would take more of a hit without sean lee than without ware. Lee is the captain making all of the calls out there and he is always around the ball. If there is a fumble on a play in his area, he is the one recovering it. It's nice to see a cowboy player able to pick up fumbles for a change.

Matthews can't be stopped? Not only did he not record a sack against Seattle, he didn't even get a solo tackle. And if you want to just count this year, I'll also take 4 sacks and two forced fumbles over 6 sacks and 0 forced fumbles.

If you want to make a case for Carr over Lee I guess you can point to the KC pass defense this season. Carr was a very low key player ( I feel like) on that team playing with the "outstanding secondary" with Flowers and Eric Berry. When they let Carr walk everybody said Routt would come in and KC would still be an elite secondary. Carr comes to Dallas and we now have the (currently) best pass defense in the NFL and KC has been atrocious.

Flowers and Lewis who are a part of that secondary hasn't played a snap yet.

They have Reeves being the 2nd corner and I think they just put him on IR.

We really don't know how well the Chiefs would of been if they had their secondary healthy at the start.

D Ware is one of the all time greats as a pass rusher. It's not some small thing to have more sacks than anybody else in the league over the past 5 or 6 years. And on top of that, if you watch the games, he makes more plays in the run game than most guys who are great pass rushers too.

Lee is a fantastic player, and I think he's going to be in the discussion of the top ILBs in the league soon, but he's not on the same plane of existence as D Ware yet. No way.

If Sean Lee had 2 sacks or forced fumbles in a game, fans are like holy crap look at this guy. If Ware does it, it's like oh cool he did it again, I wish he'd get like 4 sacks this game instead. =P

If Lee makes one impact play in a game, people point to it and talk about how great he is. If Ware makes one impact play in a game, people point to the other 65 plays and talk about how he disappears.

Lee is the best inside linebacker we've had in a long time and looks like he'll get much better, but he still has a ways to go -- and/or Ware has to decline quite a bit -- before he's on Ware's level as a player.

Ware is an all-time great who is still in his prime. Lee is still trying to get to a Pro Bowl level.

Thank you for bringing some sanity to this thread. I couldn't believe the replies I was reading. Agreed 100%.

If Lee makes one impact play in a game, people point to it and talk about how great he is. If Ware makes one impact play in a game, people point to the other 65 plays and talk about how he disappears.

Lee is the best inside linebacker we've had in a long time and looks like he'll get much better, but he still has a ways to go -- and/or Ware has to decline quite a bit -- before he's on Ware's level as a player.

Ware is an all-time great who is still in his prime. Lee is still trying to get to a Pro Bowl level.

Lee is all-pro level.. He is leading the league in every stat for ILBs. He has 7 ints since 2010 (his rookie year) most of any LB.

Lee has never finished a season being the top at his position. DeMarcus Ware has done this countless times. Sean Lee is a very good player but he has some catching up to do when you're talking about Ware's HoF level of play IMO.

Lee is incredible but Ware may be the best pass rusher of all time when its all said and done.

Better than Reggie, LT, all of em. And he's done it for the majority of his career without a solid secondary to give him extra time to get to the QB, no real pressure player opposite him to draw attention, and constantly facing double teams/chips.

Lee is all-pro level.. He is leading the league in every stat for ILBs.

Say what? The ONLY stat he leads for inside linebackers is forced fumbles -- he and a bunch of other guys are tied with 1. He's not leading in interceptions (D'Qwell Jackson has 2, Lee has 1), passes defensed (Jackson has 5, Lee has 2), fumble recoveries (Lee has 0), sacks (Lee has 0) or tackles for loss (Mason Foster has 5.5, Lee has 0.5). Tackles are not an official stat, but Lee also doesn't lead inside linebackers in solo, assisted or combined tackles.

You might think Lee is playing at an all-pro level, but after three games, a lot of guys can say that. We'll see if Lee can make the Pro Bowl this season. I hope he does, but for the time being, he's still trying to get to that level.